Hand brake



Jfine 16, 1931. G. F. ENDICOTT HAND'BRAKE' Filed March 31, 1927 Patented June 16, 1931 j :n snsln "res A N orrics GEORGE F. ENDICGTT, OF PAUIi, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO W. H. IJIIITER, INC, vO

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A, CGRPORATIUN OF DELAWARE. 7

HAND BRAKE,

' Application filed Marcntl,

This invention relates to improvements in hand brakes for railway cars.

In the operation of hand brakes of the vertical stafi type, in which means are provided for rotating the staff to wind the brake chain thereon, ratchet mechanism is also provided for preventing"accidentalreverse rotation of the staff, and when it is decided to release the brakes, the release lever of the ratchet mechanism must be disengaged and manually held outof engagement until the brake chain has unwound sufficiently to release the" brake shoes, and immediately the lever is released the'same resumes its normally engaged position with the ratchet associated with the staff, preventing any further reverse rotation of the latter. Often the release pawl is engaged before the brake is fully unwound, resulting in a dragging of the brakeffshoes upon the wheels with consequent great-wear and the necessity for increased tractive effort by the locomotive.

An object of the present invention is'to pro vide, in a hand brake of thedrop liandle type, means automatically operable upon movementof the operating'parts of the brake, whereby movement of the-release lever in a direction to release-the holding pawlbrings into operation elements which retain the, pawl in released position, which elements themselves are released by movement of the operating mechanismof the brake whenn is again desired to wind up'thebrake chain,in dependently of the position of a the drophandle in a vertical plane, thereby permitting the holding pawl to resume holding'engagement with the ratchet, said release lever being of suchcharacter that operation ofthe same in opposite directions eliects movement ofthe holding pawl in directions to release the same or to" engage the same. A further object of the inventionis to provide an operating mechanism including ratchet means which normallyeffeot rotation of the ratchet to windup the brake chain, butwhich passes over the teeth'of the ratchet in a reverse direction, in conjunction with cletaohable elements which may be engaged with the ratchet means whereby the latter may be 3 utilized to rotate the brake staff an un 1927; Serial 1%. 179,777.

winding direction to fully release the brake. Other and further objects of the invention will'more fully and clearly appear from the description and claims forming a part of this 1 specification hereinafter following. I

In'the drawings forming part of thisspeci ficatioiuFigure l is a vertical sectional view throughthe end wall of a car, showing a side elevational view of the hand brake mechanism witlrmy improvements incorporated therein. Figure 2 is a top plan view of the brake mechanism, Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the invention corresponding substantially to line 33 of Fig-V ure 2, but showing the operating lever in its 6-5 raised or horizontal position. Figure t'is'a horizontal sectional View of the invention corresponding substantially to line 4-et of Fig ure 1. Figure5 is a transverse sectional View taken through one portion of the operating lever and corresponding substantially to the line 55 ofFigure'3. "And Figure 6 is a plan viewof the pawl. As shown in the drawings, the end wall of the car is indicated at 10, to which is secured a housing or hearing bracket designated'generally by thereference character 111." The housing 11 is secured tothe wall by suitable rivets 12-12, and projecting into the housing is the usual vertical brake 'staif, a portion of which is indicated at 13, the so statfbeing ofs'quare cross section at the top 7 thereof to rigidly fit the ratchet wheel indicated at l, the ratchetwheel being suitably mounted in the housing by journals 15 and '16, the ratchet wheel havingupper and s5 lower-sets of teeth in the usual manner. Oscillatably mounted within the housing 11 is a carrier or fulcrum member 17, having a top "wall 18, side walls 1919, an inner end wall 20, and a bottom wall'21, the top wall 18 being 7 provided with an openingwhich fits about the,

journal 15, while the bottom wall is provided with a flange 22 fitting about an upstanding bearing 23 on the housing, the o'uterend of the fulcrum memherbeing open, asindicated at 24,,and provided with a stop 25 which cooperates with the operating lever, as hereinafter described. a The fulcrum member 17 is provided with a bolt 26 which extends through the side walls l9-19 thereof, adjacent the 1 9 outer end of the same, and swingably mounted upon the bolt 26 is an operating lever 27. The lever 27 is provided with a chamber 28 adj acent its inner end in which is slidably mounted a pawl 29, said pawl being urged in a direction away from the free end of .the lever by means of a coiled spring 30, one end of which bears upon the pawl 29 and the opposite end of which bears upon a web 31 forming the bottom of the chamber in which the pawl is mounted. The pawl 29 is also provided with an extension which projects toward the free end of the lever through an opening in the web 31 when the pawl is in engagement with the ratchet wheel. The handle portion 33 of the lever 27 is formed with spaced walls 3 l34 between which is pivotally mounted the gravity actuated latch upon a pin 36 extending through the walls 34, as est shown in Figure 5, the latch having a cam portion 37 adapted to engage the adjacent end of the extension on the pawl 29, and said latch has a weighted portion 38 which is adapted to rotate the latch member in a counter-clockwise direction when the operating lever 27 is raised to horizontal position to engage the sliding pawl 29 with the ratchet wheel li. The pawl 29 is provided with a beveled portion 39 at one' side, so that when the operating lever 27 is raised to horizontal position and swung in a clockwise direction, it will rotate the ratchet wheel 14, but will ratchet over the teeth of the ratchet wheel when m ved in an opposite or counter-clockwise direction, unless the latch is in engaged position.

To hold the staff 13 against reverse rotation, a locking pawl or dog i0 is provided and is pivotally mounted upon a bolt ll disposed in the housing, said dog being adapted to engage the lower end of the ratchet wheel 1% and being normally urged toward engaged position with the ratchet wheel by neans of a coiled spring -12, one end of which tits about a boss 43 on the wall of the bracket while the opposite end tits about a boss on the inner engaging end of the dog a0. The dog on the side of the pivot bolt i1 opposite to the engaging portion is provided with a short lever extension which projects outwardly through asuitable opening in the housing, the QXtClliilOll 45 being substantially oval in cross section and of considerably less length than is usually provided in brakes of this character. The dog elO is adapted to be operated by a release lever s6 which is arranged to be operated in a plane substantially parallel with the plane defined by the staff 13 in a manner which now will be described. In order to mount the lever 46 for its operative movements, the housing 11 is provided with an integral oilset member providing a wall 47 spaced outwardly from the side wall of the bracket, and one end. of the lever 46 is disposed between the wall a? and the adjacent wall of the bracket and pi votally mounted upon a bolt 48 extending through the wall 47 and the adjacent wall of the bracket, the bolt e8 being disposed at right angles to the axis of the staff 13, whereby the lever a6 swings in a plane substantially parallel with the plane defined by the stait 13. The lever 46 depends from the bolt 48 within the plane of the extension 45 of the locking dog 40, and at this point is provided with a widened portion, as indicated at 49, which has an aperture 50 therein adapted to loosely accommodate the extension 45 on the dog40, the walls defining the aperture 50 being inclined, as best shown in Figure 4, whereby angular movement of the extension 45 is permitted with respect to the lever 46 when swung to operate the dog 40. Below the portion 49, the lever 46 is oilset to provide an extension 51 forming a handle by which the lever may be swung toward and from the wall 10 of the car for releasing and permitting engagement of the dog 40.

Means are provided for automatically locking the release lever to hold the dog 40 entirely free oi engagement with the ratchet wheel 14 when the release lever 46 is moved in a direction to release the dog 40. Said means include a cam shaped member 52 formed upon the extreme end of the lever 46, and movable when the lever is operated, the cam portion being provided with a shoulder adapted to cooperate with a latch member indicated broadly at 54. The latch member 541; is substantially in the form of a bellcrank lever, the elbow of which is pivotally mounted upon a pivot bolt 55 extending through the wall 47 and the adjacent wall of the bracket'at a point above the pivot pin 48, one arm 55 of the bell-crank lever being )l'OViClGd with a hook portion 56 adapted to engage behind the shoulder 53 of the lever in one position of the parts. The other arm 57 of the bell-crank lever is provided with a cam face 58 adapted to cooperate with a laterally extending inclined web 59 formed integrally with one side wall of the fulcrum member 17, the web 59 being adapted to ride beneaththe cam surface 58 of the arm 57 of the bell-crank lever to disengage the latch when the required movement is given to the fulcrum member 17.

In operation when it is desired to wind the brake staff in a direction to set thebrakes, the lever 27 is elevated from its normal depending position to a horizontal position, causing engagement of the pawl 29 with the upper teeth ofthe ratchet wheel 14, the pawl 29 during this movement being pressed inwardly against the tension of the spring 30 causing projection of the extension 32 of the pawl toward the cam portion 37 of the latch in the lever; however, during the elevation of the operating lever 27, the cam ortion 37 of the latch will be moved out of ine with the extension 32 of the pawl 29, so that oscillation of the lever 27 in a'counter-clockwise direction efl eots corresponding rotation of the staff 13, while oscillation of the-lever 27in the reverse direction causes the pawl 29 to ratchet'over the teeth of the ratchet wheel, reverse rota-. tion of the stafi' beingprevented by reason ofnormal engagement of the dog 40fwith the lower teeth of the ratchet wheel 14; The lever 4C6 during the winding movement of the brake hangs in its depending position,

and due to theloose fit of theaperturetherein tion the inner wall of the-aperture in the lever 46 will engagethe extension45 'and'mo've the same in a clockwise direction, thereby disengaging the dog' L from the ratchet wheel 14. -During this'movement the cam member. 52 will moveintosuch position'as to permit the 'hookportion'of the latch 54 to engage behind the shoulder 53 0f the lever, so that return movement ofthe lever 46 is automa tically prevented, and thus-the dog 40 is held entirely free of the ratchet Wheel '14, and'per mits the unobstructive unwinding of the brake chain. In addition, the unwinding of the brake chainmay be positively-effected by maintaining the lever 27inits horizontal position so asto retain the pawl 29in engagement with the ratchet'whe'el, and-said pjawl prevented )from ratcheting over th'eteeth when the lever is swung in a clockwise direc tionby manually moving the weighted pori tion 38 of the latch inthehandle tobrin'g about engagement of the cam portion 37' of the latch with the adjacent, end of the extension: 32 on' the pawl 29; thereby preventing ratcheting of the pawl 29 When the lever is'moved'in a clockwisedir'ectiom When the operator releases thelatch, thewpawl 'iwill again. be free to operate under :the' infiuenoe of the spring In a order to automatically ""reengage -the V pawl eO whe-n it is again'desired'to set the brakes, the fulcrum er carrier member 17"may be first oscillated in a'counter-clockwise dire'c-i tion, by the drop-handle 33; so as tq-sbring V the inclined web 59 beneath the oam surface ing and permitting the dog to assumeits engaged position with the lower teeth of the ratchet wheel; H

Although I have herein shown anddescribed what I now consider the preferred manner of carrying out my invention, the

' same is merely illustrative, and I contemhereto."

p'late all changes and modifications that come within the ,scope "of the claims appended I claimz y i Q In a hand brake, the "combination with a; "member adapted to he rotated to effect tightening of a brake chain; of a ratchet wheel connected thereto and rotatable there with; operating mechanism having actuating means engageable with said member normallytoeii'ectmovementofthe member andwheel in'unison therewith 'when moved intone direction and permitting relative movement with reference to said member when'moved in a reverse direction; a releasable locking olement for preventing reverse rotation of said ratchet wheel; means for'latching said element in "disengaged position when moved in a releasingdirection; means for I locking the actuating means o'fsaid operating mechanism to effect movement of said 1 member in uni son therewithinsaid reverse direction to ef feet-unwinding of the brakechain and means operable throughimovement of said operating mechanism in said first named direction for actuating said: latchingmeans to unlatch said locking element to render the same oper ative with respectj to said ratchet wheel. a

2.1111 afhand brake,the combinationwith brake staff; of a' toothed member movable I with said brakestatl alockingdog co-oper-v able with sai d-toothed member, said dog "beingnormally urged to operative engagementwith said member 'andprovided with an extension bymeans of -whichsaid dog may be released; mechanism for'operating said dog, sai d' mech anisrn'being mounted to swing about an axis at an angle to the axis of rotation of said staii'jand including a member by movement 7 of which 7 said extension is moved itowrelease said'fdog from engaging position; latching I means-adapted toautomatically engage said member when moved in a releasing direction operating mechanism for rotating-said staff, including a member rotatable about said stafi. and aidrop -handle pivoted thereto and toniaintain the same in released position means carried said rotatable member of the operating mechanism Tadapted'in one-po sition. to engage said latching means to releasethe same:

3. In amid "brake, the combin atiion with a rotatable with said member; a pivoted looking dog, cooperable with said ratchet wheel, said'dog being normally urged'to operative position having an extension thereon; alever for operatingsaid dog, 'said lever "being mountedfto, swing about an axis at an angle to the axis of rotation-of said'member, and engagingsaid extension and adapted to'cm operate therewithifor operating said dog; a latching member co-operating-ewith said lever and adaptedto automatically engage the member adapted'to' berotatedto effect-tight I I elling of'the brakechain; of a'ratchet wheel i 58, of the latch 57,1which rotates the latch about its pivot and retractsthehook'pertion thereof from engagement with the shoulder I 53, permittingthe lever46 to drop and'aidsame to maintain said lever and said dog in released position; and operating means for rotating said member, including a member rotatable about a fixedaxis and a drop-handle pivoted thereto, said rotatable member being provided wih a cam element adapted to engage said latching member for releasing its holding engagement with said lever and said dog.

4. In a hand brake, the combination with a member adapted to be rotated to eflect tightening of the brake chain; of a ratchet wheel rotatable with said member; a carrier member mounted to oscillate about the axis of said ratchet wheel; an operating drop handle lever swingably mounted upon said carrier; a pawl carried by said lever and adapted to be engaged and disengaged with reference to said ratchet wheel depending upon the position of said operating drop handle lever, said pawl being normally operable when said drop-handle lever is raised to rotate said ratchet wheel in unison therewith in one direction, and ratcheting over said ratchet wheel when moved in the reverse direction; and manually actuated latch means pivoted on said lever swingable into engagement with the pawl to lock said pawl in engagement with said ratchet wheel whereby into and out of engaged position, yielding means normally urging the dog to engaged position; a release lever pivotally mounted adjacent one end to swing in a plane substantially parallel with said rotatable element, said lever intermediate its pivot and free end being provided with an abutment disposed at one sideof said extension and adapted to cooperate therewith for operating said dog when said lever is actuated, said lever, at its pivoted end being provided with a locking shoulder; a latch in the form of a bell crank lever one arm of w'hichis provided with a hook portion adapted in one position to engage the shoulder on said lever for locking the same and said dog in released position; operating means for rotating said rotatable element; and means carried by said operating means adapted to engage the other arm, of said bell crank lever in one position to disengage the same and release said release lever and said dog. 7

6. In a. hand brake, the combination with a brake staff; of a ratchet wheel mounted on said brake staff and movable therewith; a carrier member mounted to oscillate about the axis of said staff; an operating lever pivotally carried by said carrier member, a pawl carried by the operating lever, and being adapted to be moved into engaged and disengaged relation with res ect to said ratchet wheel depending upon t e position of said lever, said pawl when in engagement with said ratchet wheel being operative to rotate the latter in unison therewith when said lever is moved in one direction to tighten the brakes and to permit relative movement between said lever and ratchet wheel when the lever is moved in the reverse direction; means for detachably locking said pawl in position to eflect rotation of said ratchet wheel with said lever in unison in said reverse direction to release the brakes; a locking dog for preventing retrograde rotation V of said staff; means for releasing said dog, said meansincluding a release lever engageable with said dog and a latch automatically engageable with said lever to maintain the locking dog in released position; and means mounted on said carrier member and cooperating with said latch upon movement of said carrier member by the operating lever in said brake tightening direction to release the latch from its holding engagement with said release lever.

7. In a hand brake, the combination with a rotatable winding member for a brake chain; of operating mechanism for rotating said member in a chain winding direction, said operating mechanism being normally freely movable with respect to said member in a reverse direction; a releasable dog normally engageable with said member for preventing rotation in the last named direction; means separatefrom the operatin mechanism for automatically locking and holding said dog in disengaged position when said dog moved'in a releasing direction; means for connecting the operating mechanism to the winding member to positively efi'ect rotation of the latter in an unwinding direction; and means actuated through movement of said operating mechanism in chain winding direction for automatically disengaging the locking means from the dog, thereby rendering the dog operative to engage the winding member.

In witness that I claim the foregoing 1 have hereunto subscribed my name this 21st day of March, 1927.

GEORGE F. ENDICOTT. 

